The universe is really, really big. How big, you wonder? Just think about this. What you see above is an image from the Hubble Space Telescope that shows Abell 1413, a cluster of over 300 galaxies. That cluster is part of Abell catalogue, which consists of more than 4000 rich clusters of galaxies. According to the scientists Abell catalogue is “fairly close to Earth”, although light from there takes 3 billion years to reach our planet. What they mean is that the collection of clusters is close to our planet when we look at it from a cosmological perspective.

Still it’s very difficult to imagine how big the universe is. So we can just stay in our world for now, take a look at Abell 1413 and be amazed. It’s over 2 billion light-years away from us. So Hubble has caught the light that came from there 2 billion years ago. We have no idea what the cluster looks like at this moment. The cluster is seen between the constellations of Leo and Coma Berenices. As you can see, there’s a large galaxy in the picture. It’s an elliptical one called MCG+04-28-097 and it consists of stars that extend up to 6.5 million light-years.

]]>http://www.mobilemag.com/2014/11/11/abell-1413-galaxy-cluster-2-billion-light-years/feed/0Hubble Video: Galaxies Collide, Gorgeous “Cosmic Bloom” Resultshttp://www.mobilemag.com/2013/10/15/hubble-video-galaxies-collide-gorgeous-cosmic-bloom-results/ http://www.mobilemag.com/2013/10/15/hubble-video-galaxies-collide-gorgeous-cosmic-bloom-results/#commentsTue, 15 Oct 2013 14:05:46 +0000http://www.mobilemag.com/?p=154383No, it's not the most imaginative or creative of names, but the galaxy dubbed PGC 6240 could be one of the most interesting. It has "hazy petal-like shells" that form a "pale rose in the sky."

]]> With the Large Hadron Collider, scientists wanted to observe what happens when two particles smash into one another at an incredibly high speed. But what happens when two galaxies collide? The Hubble Space Telescope may have observed this very phenomenon with PGC 6240.

No, it’s not the most imaginative or creative of names, but the galaxy dubbed PGC 6240 could be one of the most interesting. It has “hazy petal-like shells” that form a “pale rose in the sky.” What makes PGC 6240 (located in the southern constellation of Hydrus) of particular interest are the globular clusters of stars around it. Some of these contain old stars and others contain younger stars. This is very uncommon.

The European Space Agency posits that this is the result of two galaxies colliding. “Such a merger would send ripples through the galaxy and disrupt its structure. [This] would ignite a strong burst of star formation in the galaxy, which would then trigger similar activity in nearby space — leading to the creation of new, younger globular clusters around PGC 6240.”

The resulting “cosmic bloom” can be seen in the video below. This was put together by the ESA, NASA and the Hubble Space Telescope.

]]>http://www.mobilemag.com/2013/10/15/hubble-video-galaxies-collide-gorgeous-cosmic-bloom-results/feed/1Hubble Captures Stunning Photo of Comet ISONhttp://www.mobilemag.com/2013/07/26/hubble-captures-stunning-photo-of-comet-ison/ http://www.mobilemag.com/2013/07/26/hubble-captures-stunning-photo-of-comet-ison/#commentsSat, 27 Jul 2013 00:17:55 +0000http://www.mobilemag.com/?p=152259The scientists of NASA leveraged their Hubble Space Telescope on April 30 to take give photos of the Comet ISON in deep space, stiching together these images to create the photo that you see here.

]]> The human race has been gazing up at the starry skies for millennia, but now we have all sorts of tools and machinery that let us look even more closely and with more detail. The scientists of NASA leveraged their Hubble Space Telescope on April 30 to take give photos of the Comet ISON in deep space, stiching together these images to create the photo that you see here.

The comet is backdropped by the beauty of distant galaxies and some stars in the foreground. This image, according to Josh Sokol from Baltimore’s Space Telescope Science Institute, is a “simulation of what our eyes, with their ability to dynamically adjust to brighter and fainter objects, would see if we could look up at the heavens with the resolution of Hubble.” He works at the institute responsible for operating the Hubble Telescope.

What makes Comet ISON of particular interest, though, is that it is going to have a very close encounter with our sun on November 28, coming just within 724,000 miles of it. As it whips around its orbit, it could shine as bright in the night sky as a full moon.

Many comets don’t survive the trip around the sun, getting burned up, by Comet ISON has a chance, even if comets are notoriously unpredictable. To learn a little more about comets in general (and what happens when they close to our sun), and about Comet ISON in particular, watch the embedded video below.

]]>http://www.mobilemag.com/2013/07/26/hubble-captures-stunning-photo-of-comet-ison/feed/0Neptune’s 14th Moon Discovered and It’s a Tiny Onehttp://www.mobilemag.com/2013/07/17/neptunes-14th-moon/ http://www.mobilemag.com/2013/07/17/neptunes-14th-moon/#commentsWed, 17 Jul 2013 14:30:18 +0000http://www.mobilemag.com/?p=151809The Hubble Space Telescope has just discovered that Neptune has a new moon that was apparently missed back in 1989 when the Voyager passed by the planet.

It’s amazing to think how quickly our knowledge of space has changed. There was a time when mankind thought the Sun revolved around the Earth, that advanced aliens might live on Mars and that 9 planets could be found in our Solar System. All of these previous ideas and ‘facts’ have completely changed over the course of time, and we are continuing to learn new things about space each and every day.

In recent times we have found quite a few planets outside of solar system, many of which could potentially support life. We’ve even learned that our Solar System has a very wide back porch that takes quite some time to cross. Even closer to home, the Hubble Space Telescope has just discovered that Neptune has a new moon that was apparently missed back in 1989 when the Voyager passed by the planet.

The new moon is now designated as S/2004 N1 and is the 14th known moon orbiting the planet – that’s a lot of moons!

So why’d we miss the moon in the first place? Probably because it is so darn small, coming in at just 12 miles across. According to Scientists, the new moon would likely complete a full orbit around Neptune once every 23 hours.

The moral of the story is that you never know what’s lurking around the corner in space.. heck, maybe those advanced Martians aren’t so crazy after all.

]]>http://www.mobilemag.com/2013/07/17/neptunes-14th-moon/feed/0NASA and CSA Start Robot Refueling Mission Experimenthttp://www.mobilemag.com/2012/03/09/nasa-and-csa-start-robot-refueling-mission-experiment/ http://www.mobilemag.com/2012/03/09/nasa-and-csa-start-robot-refueling-mission-experiment/#commentsSat, 10 Mar 2012 00:36:19 +0000http://www.mobilemag.com/?p=130605Basically, this experiment is to see how well they can service working satellites using robots via remote control.

]]> Just like regular old cars and trains, the satellites that NASA launches into space also need maintenance and repairs. Not surprisingly, this task isn’t exactly as easy as changing the oil on your Honda Civic. And that’s why NASA has partnered up with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on a two-year experiment called the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM).

Basically, this experiment is to see how well they can service working satellites using robots via remote control. Many satellites are launched without the expectation of really extending their lives beyond whatever fuel they get initially, but salvaging and continuing their service could really help with NASA’s shrinking budget.

A series of special RRM tools are being developed for various functions related to the maintenance and repair of satellites. These include the ability to remove and replace caps, open and close valves, handle wiring, and transfer fluids (like fuel). In order to fuel up, the module needs to provide extra protective thermal blankets. It also needs to be able to manipulate wiring, valves, caps and so on in a reliable and precise manner.

Early tests look promising. Space may be the final frontier, but we need to know how to extend our trip too. The video below demonstrates some of this work. There’s no sound, but us Canadians (I see the Canadarm!) tend to be a quiet bunch.